The Kansas City Chiefs hit the road to face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 4 of NFL action, and there was plenty to take away from the Sunday contest.
Sep 29, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) gets set to throw a touchdown pass in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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The Kansas City Chiefs kicked off their AFC West slate on Sunday, facing the Los Angeles Chargers in a battle between two of the game’s most talented quarterbacks.
After a perplexing start to the game for Kansas City, both sides of the ball eventually made things close at halftime. In the final two frames of play, things remained well within reach but the visitors were able to escape with a victory. With their 17-10 win, the Chiefs rise to 4-0 on the year and create a two-game gap between them and the Chargers.
With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Sunday’s game.
Opening drive woes continued to plague the Chiefs
It’s safe to say that the Chiefs haven’t been their sharpest early this season, yet they’ve produced mostly favorable outcomes anyway. The offensive side of the ball, specifically, is a mixed bag four weeks into the year. After putting up a touchdown and field goal on opening drives in Weeks 1 and 2, respectively, last weekend saw Patrick Mahomes get picked off early on. On the first offensive possession of this Sunday outing, rookie fullback Carson Steele turned the ball over on a fumble.
The poor execution didn’t stop there, though. Kansas City’s defense has surrendered a score on every opening drive this season: three touchdowns and a field goal. An anemic Los Angeles offense marched down the field on a 10-play, 74-yard touchdown drive on Sunday. On three of four initial drives faced this year, Steve Spagnuolo’s group has let the opposition log 10 or more plays. If the Chiefs want to make things easier on themselves moving forward, it begins with starting off on a better note.
Once again, Spagnuolo’s defense adjusted and closed out the game
A week ago, the Chiefs gave up a touchdown to the Atlanta Falcons on two of their first three drives. After that, however, the worst they did was surrender a field goal to Kirk Cousins and company. Spagnuolo’s defense is far from perfect, but it’s shown over the years that it should be judged based on its ability to adapt over time. Sunday’s game in Los Angeles was another perfect example of that.
After the aforementioned opening touchdown possession, the Chargers logged a field goal and punted four times in a row. On those four drives, they ran 13 plays for a combined 10 yards. To open the second half, kicker Cameron Dicker missed a field goal. The fourth quarter kicked off with Chris Jones pressuring Herbert, leading to a turnover on downs. Jones and Tershawn Wharton helped generate pressure later on, and a Jones sack sent the ball back to the Chiefs. The Chargers never saw it again on offense. Kansas City’s defense is the ultimate closer.
Rashee Rice’s injury changes the entire dynamic of the offense
After an already rough start to the game, the Chiefs added insult to injury – injury to insult, actually – when wide receiver Rashee Rice went down on the Mahomes interception. The two-time MVP accidentally took out his No. 1 target in the passing game, and the early vibes surrounding the knee issue aren’t great. More clarity is surely coming within the next 24 hours or so but for the time being, it’s hard to not think about how the offense changes if Rice misses time.
Coming into Week 4, Rice held top-three ranks in the NFL in targets, receptions and receiving yards. His ability to haul in short and intermediate passes, then turn upfield and maintain terrific contact balance can’t be replicated. Luckily for the Chiefs, two other high-level pieces stepped up on offense (more on that in a second). In a long-term sense, Kansas City thriving without Rice seems close to impossible. There isn’t enough talent in the stable. For their sake, they’ll be hoping it won’t end up being the case.
Travis Kelce looked more like himself and Xavier Worthy had his best moment yet
It was a quiet start to the season for one Travis Kelce, seeing him get targeted 12 times and record eight receptions for 69 yards in Weeks 1-3. He managed to surpass that yardage total in just the first half of Sunday’s game with 74. In all, the future Hall of Fame pass catcher finished with 89. Week 4 served as a solid reminder that Kelce is still capable of delivering nice statistical performances. (It also should quiet some of the negative discourse surrounding him – the tape always showed this.)
After Rice exited the game, wideout Xavier Worthy delivered perhaps the best signature moment of his rookie season so far. According to Next Gen Stats, his 54-yard touchdown in the first half saw him reach over 21 miles per hour, making him the third-fastest ball carrier this year. More importantly, the 62.2 air yards the ball traveled marked the longest air distance completion Mahomes has had in a game. For an offense that preached wanting to get back to the deep ball in 2024, this was a nice start. A significant one finally hit.